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has been taken prisoner by the Helots, a people conquered by the Lacedemonians, but who had rebelled from them, and who, exasperated with Clitiphon for joining the forces against them, were daily expected to put him to a cruel death. Musidorus, being made acquainted with this circumstance, compassionating the deep distress and affection of his benevolent host, and in order to repay the good offices he had received, takes the command of a force raised for the rescue of Clitiphon, and surprises the Helots, unprepared for his coming, by a sudden attack. They, however, desperate and determined, make a resolute resistance, encouraged by the example of their captain, who performs prodigies of valour. Between him and Musidorus ensues a combat,

"which was so much inferiour to the battaile in noise and uumber, as it was surpassing it in bravery of fighting, and (as it were) delightful terriblenes. Their courage was guided with skill, and their skill was armed with courage; neither did their hardinesse darken their wit, nor their wit coole their hardinesse: both valiant, as men despising death; both confident, as unwonted to be overcome; yet doubtfull by their present feeling, and respectfull by what they had already seene. Their feet stedy, their hands diligent, their eyes watchfull, and their hearts resolute. The parts either not armed, or weakly armed, were well known, and according to the knowledge should have beene sharpely visited, but that the answer was as quicke as the objection. Yet some lighting, the smart bred rage, and the rage bred smart again: till both sides beginne to waxe faint, and rather desirous to die accompanied, than hopefull to live victorious; the captaine of the Helots with a blow, whose violence grew of furie, not of strength, or of strength proceeding of furie, strake Palladius upon the side of the head, that he reeled astonied: and withall the helmet fell off, he remaining bare-headed, but other of the Arcadians were ready to shield him from any harme might rise of that nakednesse."p. 23.

No sooner is the face of Musidorus, or Palladius, seen by Pyrocles, for such the captain of the Helots turns out to be, than an instant recognition takes place between the friends. The Helots, by the persuasion of Pyrocles, consent to deliver up Clitiphon to his father, who receives back Musidorus and Pyrocles with much joy and gratitude. The young princes recount to each other their various adventures since their parting, and resume all their former habits of continual intercourse and reciprocal endearment. But this is soon interrupted: Pyrocles, by degrees, becomes enamoured of solitude, and notwithstanding the expostulations of his friend, addicts himself to solitary musing and contemplation-the first symptom of nascent love. Nothing can be more beautiful than the following passage, in which he describes the attractions of the scenes which he visited.

"And in such contemplation, or (as I thinke) more excellent, I enjoy my solitarinesse, and my solitarinesse perchance is the nurse of these contemplations. Eagles, we see, fly alone, and they are but sheep which alwaies herd together: condemne not therefore my mind sometimes to enjoy it selfe; nor blame the taking of such times as serve most fit for it. And, alas, deare Musidorus, if I be sad, who knowes better than you the just causes I have of sadnesse? And here Pyrocles suddenly stopped, like a man unsatisfied in himselfe, though his wit might well have served to have satisfied another. And so looking with a countenance, as though hee desired he should know his minde without hearing him speake, and yet desirous to speake, to breathe out some part of his inward evill, sending againe new blood to his face, hee continued his speech in this manner: and, Lord (deare cousin, said hee) doth not the pleasantnes of this place carry in it selfe sufficient reward for any time lost in it? Doe you not see how all things conspire together to make this country a heavenly dwelling? Do you not see the grasse, how in colour they excell the emeralds, every one striving to passe his fellow, and yet they are all kept of an equall height? And see you not the rest of these beautiful flowers, each of which would require a man's wit to know, and his life to expresse? Do not these stately trees seeme to maintaine their flourishing old age with the onely happinesse of their seat, being clothed with a continuall spring, because no beauty here should ever fade: doth not the aire breathe health, which the birds (delightfull both to eare and eie) do daily solemnize with the sweet consent of their voyces? Is not every eccho there of a perfect musick and these fresh and delightfull brooks how slowly they slide away, as loth to leave the company many things united in perfection? and with how sweet a murmure they lament their forced departure? Certainly, certainly, cosin, it must needs be that some goddesse inhabiteth this region, who is the soule of this soile for neither is any lesse than a goddesse worthy to be shrined in such a heape of pleasures; nor any lesse than a goddesse could have made it so perfect a plot of the cœlestiall dwellings."— p. 31, 32.

of so

While Pyrocles is thus defending himself to his cousin, their good host, Kalander, comes to invite them to the hunting of a stag, which he hoped, by entertaining, would drive away some part of the melancholy which had begun to seize upon Pyrocles. The princes consent; and

"Then went they together abroad, the good Kalander entertaining them with pleasant discoursing,-how well he loved the sport of hunting when he was a yong man, how much in the comparison thereof he disdained all chamber-delights, that the sunne (how great a journey soever he had to make) could never prevent him with earlinesse, nor the moone (with her sober countenance) disswade him from watching till midnight for the deeres feeding. O, said he, you wil never live to my age, without you keep yourselfe in breathe with exercise, and in heart with joyfulnesse: too much thinking doth consume the spirits,

and oft it fals out, that while one thinkes too much of his doing, hee leaves to doe the affect of his thinking. Then spared hee not to remember, how much Arcadia was changed since his youth: activitie and good fellowshippe being nothing in the price it was then held in, but according to the nature of the old-growing world, still worse and worse. Then would he tell them stories of such gallants as he had knowne; and so with pleasant company, beguiled the time's haste, and shortned the waie's length, till they came to the side of the wood, where the hounds were in couples, staying their comming, but with a whining accent craving liberty; many of them in colour and markes so resembling, that it shewed they were of one kinde. The huntsmen handsomely attired in their greene liveries, as though they were children of summer, with staves in their hands to beate the guiltlesse earth, when the hounds were at a fault, and with hornes about their neckes, to sound an allarum upon a silly fugitive: the hounds were straight uncoupled, and ere long the stagge thought it better to trust to the nimblenesse of his feet, than to the slender fortification of his lodging: but even his feet betrayed him; for howsoever they went, they themselves uttered themselves to the scent of their enemies; who one taking it of another, and sometimes beleeving the winde's advertisements, sometimes the view of (their faithfull counsellers) the huntsmen, with open mouthes then denounced warre, when the warre was already begunne. Their cry being composed of so well-sorted mouthes, that any man would perceive therein some kind of propor tion, but the skilfull woodmen did find a musicke, Then delight and variety of opinion drew the horsemen sundry wayes, yet cheering their hounds with voyce and horne, kept still (as it were) together. The wood seemed to conspire with them against their own citizens, dispersing their noise through all his quarters; and even the nymph, Eccho, left to bewaile the losse of Narcissus, and became a hunter. But the stagge was in the end so hotly pursued, that (leaving his flight) hee was driven to make courage of despaire; and so turning his head, made the hounds, with change of speech, to testifie that he was at a bay as if from hot pursuit of their enemy, they were suddenly come to a parley."-p. 33, 34.

Upon returning to the house of Kalander, Musidorus finds that Pyrocles has disappeared, and that he had left a letter, in which he ascribed his departure to violence of love, and enjoined his friend to leave him to his fate, and return to Thessaly, his native country. Grieved to the heart at the desertion he had experienced from his companion, Musidorus yet determines to follow his fugitive friend; whom, after many vain searches and fruitless enquiries, he finds near the mountain of Monalus, in Arcadia, disguised in the attire of an Amazon, and uttering forth to the hills and groves his plaintive and enamoured complaints. The scene which then ensues between the two princes, of accusation on the one side and defence on the other, is exquisitely tender and pathetic. Musidorus, as

suming all the authority which his seniority in years and nearness of affinity and affection seemed to entitle him to, remon strates with his friend on his abandonment of himself, and attempts to reason away the love-sick and effeminate languor which had taken place of his former high-mindedness and heroism. Pyrocles, though conscious of the justice of the charge, yet is angry at experiencing severity from a quarter he so little expected. At length, Musidorus threatens to dissolve the friendship which had subsisted between them.

"And herewith the deepe wound of his love, being rubbed a-fresh with this new unkindnesse, began as it were to bleed again, in such sort, that he was unable to beare it any longer, but gushing out abundance of teares, and crossing his armes over his wofull heart, he sunke downe to the ground: which sudden trance went so to the heart of Musidorus, that falling downe by him, and kissing the weeping eyes of his friend, he besought him not to make account of his speech; which, if it had bin over-vehement, yet was it to be borne withall, because it came out of a love much more vehement, that he had not thought fancy could have received so deepe a wound : but now finding in him the force of it, hee would no further contrary it, but employ all his service to medicine it, in such sort as the nature of it required. But even this kindnesse made Pyrocles the more to melt in the former unkindnesse, which his manlike teares well shewed, with a silent looke upon Musidorus, as who should say, and is it possible that Musidorus should threaten to leave me? And this strooke Musidorus mind and senses so dumbe too, that for griefe being not able to say any thing, they rested with their eyes placed one upon another, in such sort, as might well point out the true passion of unkindnesse to be never aright, but betwixt them that most dearly love."-p. 47.

Musidorus, now finding that harshness only served to embitter the mind of his friend, without recovering it, submits to the disorder which he cannot overcome, and offers to assist Pyrocles in obtaining his desires, who relates the story of his captivation; in order to understand which, we must inform our readers of some circumstances, of which we perhaps ought previously to have made them acquainted.

The country of Arcadia, at the time of the arrival of Pyrocles and Musidorus, was governed by a prince of the name of Basilius, whose gentleness and goodness had universally endeared him to his people. His consort, Gynecia, whom he had married in his old age, was yet a woman of great beauty, and adorning, by her noble and majestical demeanour, the station to which he had advanced her. Of this marriage, two daughters, Pamela and Philoclea, were the fruit, both endowed with excellences different in kind, yet equal in degree.

"The elder is named Pamela, by many men not deemed inferior to her sister for my part, when I marked them both, mee thought there was (if at least such perfections may receive the word of more) more sweetnesse in Philoclea, but more majesty in Pamela: mee thought love plaid in Philoclea's eies and threatened in Pamela's; mee thought Philoclea's beauty onely perswaded, but so perswaded as all hearts must yeeld; Pamela's beauty used violence, and such violence as no heart could resist. And it seems that such proportion is betweene their mindes: Philoclea so bashfull, as though her excellencies had stolne into her before she was aware; so humble, that she will put all pride out of countenance; in summe, such proceedings as will stirre hope, but teach hope good manners. Pamela of high thoughts, who avoids not pride with not knowing her excellencies, but by making that one of her excellencies to be void of pride; her mother's wisedome, greatnesse, nobility, but (if I can guesse aright) knit with a more constant temper."—p. 10.

Enriched with such domestic blessings, and happy in the possession of the love of his people and in the tranquillity of his reign, Basilius still feels a desire to pry into futurity; and, led by curiosity to ascertain the future fortunes of himself and family, he makes a journey to Delphos to consult the oracle, and the answer he receives is this:

66

Thy elder care shall from thy carefull face
By princely meane be stolne, and yet not lost.
Thy yonger, shall with Nature's blisse imbrace
An uncouth love, which nature hateth most.
Both they themselves unto such two shall wed,
Who at thy bier, as at a barre, shall plead,
Why thee (a living man) they had made dead.
In thine owne seat a forraine state shall sit,
And ere that all these blowes thy head doe hit,

Thou with thy wife adultery shalt commit."-p. 204.

Dismayed by this prediction, and in order to prevent its accomplishment, he retires from his court with Gynecia and the two princesses to a habitation which he had built for the purpose, in the midst of a large forest in Arcadia, relinquishing the active government of his affairs to Philanax, a faithful and well-tried servant, who had in vain attempted to persuade his master from a step so useless and absurd. In this seclusion the king buries himself and family, retaining only, as the companions of his solitude, Dametas, a country clown, and his uncouth and deformed wife and daughter.-We will now return to Pyrocles, who, having heard, whilst remaining with Kalander, of the strange retirement of Basilius and of the beauty of his daughter, and in particular of the loveliness of Philoclea, con

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